On occasion, we might view ourselves through the lens of procrastination and feel a lull due to our hangovers of the office, or other issues and perhaps feel groggy at times, however, one needs to prepare based on the facts and not beat around the bush by lying to ourselves.  What did I aim for when I joined the course? First, to complete the full course come what may, second, getting at least “B” grades. Did I achieve it? Yes I did.  How?  Here are some tips I have followed since the beginning of the course which might help you:

1. Put in the effort

You need to put in effort to achieve what you have set out to do, without effort can you even imagine eating your own dinner?  Can you?  Therefore, in the beginning of the course, you may feel diffident about reading the literature. Study it in a dilettante (casual) way and then use the theory to answer your DQ (Discussion Question) in an educed manner. But be sure to read the DQ quite a number of times to get the depth of the question and do not deviate from the discussion, to enhance your answer you could provide live examples which you have experienced during your professional and personal lives, this will create a positive impact and would cogently tie up with your discussion.

2. Review your lecture notes

Always review the lecture notes (Weekly Notes) first, review the articles mentioned in those lecture notes and the required chapters from your e-book provided by the University, research more articles from Scholarly and Peer reviewed material from the online library.  Read all the available learning and researched material before you prepare to answer your DQ.  Select an interesting article first so that you do not get bogged down by theoretical presentation and overlap it with your professional experience, it might enlighten your thoughts and you will with ease conclude the paper in time for submission.

3. Keep your notes

Make and keep valuable notes which you prepare over the study week for your final project, then incorporate/integrate all those readings of 7 weeks into the module project.  Do not let other matters expunge your notes from your memory, be conscious of your end of module project, which carries greater weight as you get to amalgamate your learning’s for the whole 7 weeks in the project work and also in the integration paper which will be due in Week 8.

4. Interact with your classmates

Enjoy reading your classmates posts and writing in the discussion board (DB), because this is the only platform in the online education where you will interact with your classmates and exchange your views on the subject.  In DB, you have the chance to explore those theories or questions which you always wanted to ask your colleagues and seek to keep your interest alive.  Disseminate your real-life knowledge (remember sharing of knowledge provides incredible experience) as much as you can in DB, it helps you tremendously in your professional life.

5. Research

Again, research is the key to making valuable critique to your classmate’s discussions posts and to have an efficacious effect on the readers.  If you do not support your discussion board postings with research it would look anecdotal to the your colleagues and the instructor.  Therefore, it is imperative that at least two articles are researched based on the key words of your subject to support your argument.

A small piece of advice to fellow students, I achieved good grades in all modules (6 of them) only through research, hard work and commitment to learn something new in life.  I have also gained tremendous experience in different fields through discussion board in an online classroom, which cannot be replicated anywhere else!  I believe what sets you apart from the lot is your desire to put forward a consummate persona.

Finally, if you do not get the results you set out to achieve, that would not be the end of the world, you must always believe in yourself and work towards your goals.  Failure indicates that you have shown lax approach towards your committed goals, you are not a failure because you are achieving what you have dreamt all along!  Good luck then; keep dreaming and achieving!

Best regards,

Sohail A. Mohammed